Tyson Fury tested positive for Cocaine, title picture in turmoil.

World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury submitted to a random urine test on Sept 22nd at his home near Lancaster, England, and shockingly the results returned a positive trace for the substance benzoylecgonine, the central compound found in cocaine and the marker for a positive test for the particular substance.
VADA president Dr. Margaret Goodman sent a following letter to all parties involved..
Fury, Klitschko, the British Boxing Board of Control and the United States' Association of Boxing Commissions on Thursday night.
Goodman wrote, "This letter is to advise you that the 'A' sample urine specimen number 4006253 collected from Tyson Fury on September 22, 2016 in Lancaster, England through his participation in the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association program has been analyzed for anabolic agents, diuretics, beta-2 agonists, stimulants and drugs of abuse. The results of the analysis are as follows: Adverse. Urine specimen contains benzoylecgonine."
Mr. Fury has the right to promptly request analysis of the 'B' sample at his expense.
The VADA testing for performance-enhancing drugs is done separately and takes longer, so those results are not yet available.
Fury's promoter Mick Hennessy and Uncle / trainer Peter Fury have yet to respond to the allegations

I sympathise with Tyson Fury, with the understanding that he must be truly battling his demons at this time, substance addiction coupled with his recent bouts of mental Heath issues and depression are a mountain to climb even for the average person, but knowing that this whole episode is under the worlds microscope at this moment, I can barely imagine his personal predicament ..  the stark probability now is that in the event that these findings are universally validated, Fury will be ordered to give up the belts he battled so valiantly last November to achieve..
this news is the second time in a year that a huge heavyweight championship bout has been scuppered due to drug test failings..  Alexander Povetkin failed a test for Meldonium earlier in the year just prior to his WBC bout with Deontay Wilder, but Povetkin has since been cleared and ordered to box a final eliminator with former champion Bermaine Stiverne..

Classy Linares dethrones Crolla in Manchester.

Three-division world champion and WBC champion in recess Jorge Linares (41-3, 27 KOs) won a unanimous decision to dethrone WBA lightweight champion Anthony Crolla (31-5-3, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at the Manchester Arena in Crolla’s hometown of Manchester, England. Linares made his mark early on, setting a fast pace landing piercing shots, Crolla did start applying pressure in the middle rounds, forcing Linares to fight in bursts.. Referee Terry O’Connor warned Linares’ body work several times for border line low punches. Crolla cut Linares in the fifth round, while Linares physically shook Crolla at the close of round six. From round 7 onwards there were several close rounds that could have gone either way, Crolla pushing forward  and Linares sharpshooting in clusters.. Linares appeared to get his second wind in round ten, upping the pace with crisp, flashy shots in the last couple of rounds to seal the victory..

Scores were..  115-114, 117-111, 115-113.

After the fight, Linares confirmed that he injured his right hand in round six. The classy Venezuelan seemed very gracious and said he was willing to come back to England for a rematch with Crolla, emotionally explaining that the win fulfilled a promise he made to the late WBA President Gilberto Mendoza Sr., who passed away earlier this year.

Anthony Crolla v Jorge Linares a closer look.

Jorge Linares is no easy task..  in 2009, the former featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight champion was an impressive 27/0 before his first taste of defeat from tough Juan Carlos Salgado in Japan, losing his WBA super featherweight title..
4 wins later in 2011 he would face defeat again at the hands of Antonio Demarco in a WBC lightweight challenge..  followed by a further loss to Sergio Thompson in Mexico..   however since the end of 2012, Linares has remained undefeated and on a 9 fight winning streak. Linares picked up the WBC lightweight belt in 2014 by beating Javier Prieto and in 2015 made two successful defences, stopping both Kevin Mitchell and Ivan Cano..  Linares is currently the WBC champion in recess and with 27 knockouts in his 40 victories is an extremely dangerous challenger..

In 2008 in his second year as a pro, Crolla would drop a 8 round points decision to Youssef Al Hamidi in London..   6 months later Anthony would return the favour to Hamidi and remain undefeated until 2009, when at 13/1 he would lose once again in his first scheduled 10 rounder to the unbeaten Gary Sykes in Stoke..
Crolla would see 2009 out by ending the career of Michael Brodie in three rounds in Wigan..  2010 saw Crolla pick up the English title by beating Andy Morris, and a year later grab the vacant British title, knocking out John Watson in Liverpool in 9.
2011 also saw Crolla make his Las Vegas debut, appearing on the Mayweather v Ortiz card at the MGM grand, earning a tough 8 round split decision over Juan Montiel..   Crolla would return home to make a successful defence of his British title against Willie Limond before losing his crown 5 months later to Derry Mathews in Oldham, being stopped in the 6th round of a bout Crolla was winning comfortably..   Anthony's return to the ring later that year would be in the popular Prizefighter tournament where he would lose in the semi finals, once again to Gary Sykes..
In 2013 Anthony would travel to Liverpool for the return bout with Derry Matthews where he was unfortunate to come away with a draw for the vacant commonwealth title..   Three successive victories over Gavin Rees, Steve Foster and John Murray saw Anthony at the top of his game, looking down the barrel of a shot at Darleys Perez WBA title..   Crolla would almost miss out following a devastating head injury after disturbing a neighbourhood burglary only weeks before.. once recovered in July 2015 he would bring the performance of his career against the once beaten Perez in Manchester only to lose out by the slimmest of decisions, again settling for a draw..  4 months later the rematch was ordered and Crolla would justify the result of the first bout by pulling off the impossible, dropping and stopping Perez with a left hook to the body in the 5th, realising his dream as a world champion..   Crolla would make one successful defence in May, knocking out Ismael Barroso in 7 to set up tonight's clash..  Crolla comes into this 31/4/3 (13 Ko's) and a slight favourite..

Tyson Fury v Wladimir Klitschko 2.. Off again..

WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has once again pulled out of his October 29 rematch against deposed ex champion Wladimir Klitschko due to Fury being declared “medically unfit.” This is the second time the much anticipated bout has been forced to reschedule for team Fury, the first rescheduling was reportedly down to an ankle injury. Uncharacteristically Fury failed to show up at the recent kickoff press conference to announce the fight, claiming his car broke down en route..  Fury also has a UK anti-doping probe hanging over him following the fight..
Team Fury did however release a statement..
It is with the deepest regret that we have to announce that the World Heavyweight Championship rematch between Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko, scheduled to take place on the 29th October 2016 at the Manchester Arena, will not be going ahead.
Tyson has, this week, been declared medically unfit to fight. Medical specialists have advised that the condition is too severe to allow him to participate in the rematch and that he will require treatment before going back into the ring. Tyson will now immediately undergo the treatment he needs to make a full recovery.
We and Tyson wish to express our sincerest apologies to all those concerned with the event and all the boxing fans who had been looking forward to the rematch. Tyson is understandably devastated by the development.
We will be making a further statement in due course. Until then, we ask that Tyson and his family be given the privacy and the space he needs to recover during this difficult time.

Several rumours have been circulating since the postponement regarding Fury suffering from a mental illness and being unable to participate due to severe bouts of depression..   in any case, much of the boxing world hope that Fury is able to regain complete fitness and return to fulfil his obligation to Klitschko as soon as is possible..  it would be a great shame to see Tyson stripped, following such an epic performance in the first clash..

Saul Alvarez rips WBO Super Welter title away from Liam Smith in 9.

On Mexican Independence Weekend in Arlington, Texas, Saul Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) captured the WBO super welterweight title at the AT&T Dallas Cowboys Stadium, with a 9th round Stoppage of reigning champion Liam Smith (23-1-1, 13 KOs). Canelo put Smith on the floor in the 7th, 8th and 9th rounds, from various body shots.. The champion wasn't about to go quietly and fought competently up until the 7th round..  The final knockdown was a wicked left hand that finally saw off the tough Brit. Smith did extremely well to overcome the previous knockdowns and battle back gamely, even backing Alvarez up on occasion..  Alvarez looked a good ten pounds heavier than he appeared at Fridays weigh in and used his size and power to dominate Smith throughout most of the bout, Alvarez did acquire a small cut around his left eye in the third, but maintained his composure to secure victory..  The official time of the KO was 2:28 of the 9th round.

Oleksandr Usyk dethrones Krzysztof Glowacki in 10th outing.

Number one ranked Cruiserweight Oleksandr Usyk (10-0, 9 KOs) grabbed his world title opportunity with both hands last night by beating previously unbeaten WBO world champion Krzysztof Glowacki (26-1, 16 KOs) via unanimous decision at the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland. The two unbeaten southpaw matchup promised to be entertaining and didn't disappoint, the boxing ability and athleticism of Usyk, the 2012 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist, made all the difference as he outlanded and outmanoeuvred the rugged Glowacki. Both fighters had their moments in spells, Usyk landing the bigger shots when it counted, not allowing the brawling champion to get a foothold for the majority of the bout...  Both men indulged in a final shootout in an exciting 12th round. Scores were 119-109, 117-111, 117-111.
Usyk now holds the record as the fastest world cruiserweight title claimant, winning the WBO in just his tenth pro bout, beating the previous record set by Evander Holyfield in 1986..  Usyk looks very capable of developing into a dominating force in his division..  Lucrative matches with the other respective champions, Tony Bellew and Dennis Lebidev look a real possibility..

Devin Haney aiming to make it 10/0 on Friday.

Former amateur standout Devin Haney aims to make it 10/0 in under just 10 months as a professional on friday in Philadelphia..   17 year old Haney had to travel to Mexico last December to turn professional due to his young age (16), yet after 4 impressive wins across the border Haney was granted the chance to box in his home town of Las Vegas on the Pacquiao v Bradley card, where he would become the youngest professional fighter to appear at the MGM grand garden arena, beating Rafael Vasquez on points..  Five weeks later at the D, in downtown Las Vegas Devin knocked out the unbeaten Jairo Fernandez Vargas in 4, and would fight a further 3 times in the following 3 months..   Haney makes his tenth appearance this weekend on the Lamanna v Harrison card at the 2300 arena in Philly where he takes on the 5/2 Mike Fowler of Milwaukee..  Haney, trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr. looks to be on the fast track in the paid ranks, already 9/0 (5 Kos) fighting at every available opportunity to gain the valuable experience required to fulfil his potential..  Haney grew up in his own family gym until 2014 at The Hit Factory in Las Vegas, now the Porter Hy-performance centre on East Sahara Blvd, where as a 15 year old Haney regularly sparred seasoned pros Shawn Porter and Zabdiel Judah on a regular basis..   Don't be fooled by the boyish looks, Haney is far ahead of his years in ability and looks destined for extremely high honours in the near future, if I ever saw a future star in the making, Devin Haney is it..

This weekend.. The return of Robert Daniels, Canelo Alvarez and Oleksandr Usyk..

This Saturday in Fort Meyers Florida, 48 year old former WBA cruiserweight champion Robert Daniels 49/10/1 (41 knockouts) steps back into the ring after a 9 year hiatus..  Robert did make a sole losing appearance in 2012 against victor Bisbal but hadn't laced on gloves since a 2007 defeat at the hands of Aldo Colliander up at heavyweight, in Sweden..     Daniels takes on Carlos Reyes 7/9/1, a 39 year old southpaw from Arizona..  Hardly a daunting task..

This Saturday also sees the ring return of Saul Alvarez, following his devastating knockout of Amir Khan in May up at 160..  Alvarez 47/1/1 takes on Liverpool England's, Liam Smith 23/0/1 who defends his WBO super welterweight title in the biggest test of his career..  
The huge card at the AT&T arena in Arlington Texas also features Gabriel Rosado 23/9/0 who takes on tough Willie Monroe jr 20/2/0 for the vacant WBO intercontinental middleweight title. Also making an appearance is unbeaten featherweight Joseph Diaz 21/0 who faces Andrew Cancio 17/3/2 in defence of his NABF crown...

Also at the weekend, undefeated Oleksandr Usyk 9/9 aims to become the fastest claimant of the world cruiserweight championship when he faces the also unbeaten Krzysztof Glowacki 26/0 in Gdansk Poland for Glowacki's WBO title.   Usyk who was the 2012 Olympic heavyweight champion is looking to break Evander Holyfield's record, of capturing the WBA cruiserweight title after just 11 outings, in beating Dwight Qawi in 1986..

Knockout night at the D Las Vegas returns September 30th.

Knockout Night at the D, promoted by Roy Jones Jr Boxing Promotions, returns September 30 on CBS Sports Network outdoors at the fabulous Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (DLVEC). The 10-round main event features Hanzel Martinez (23-2, 19 KOs) taking on Emmanuel Quartey (20-2, 19 KOs) for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) International super bantamweight championship. Also featured is unbeaten bantamweight Stephon Young (14-0-3, 6 KOs) facing Tony Lopez, Jr. (11-1, 4 KOs) for the vacant WBA North American Boxing Association (NABA) title. Also pencilled into the roster is undefeated WBA-NABA USA super welterweight titlist John Vera (14-0, 9 KOs) making his first title defense against Milorad Zizic (12-1, 6 KOs) over 8..   Knockout nights at the D, Las Vegas have proved highly popular and tickets generally sell quick..

Ruiz extends unbeaten run against Lawrence.. Fury next.

Unbeaten WBO #3 heavyweight Andy Ponce Ruiz (27-0, 17 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over the game Franklin Lawrence (21-3-2, 16 KOs) on Saturday night before a sold out crowd of over 3,000 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Hard punching Ruiz rocked Franklin in the second but the 40-year-old Franklin weathered the storm..  Both fighters settled into a less frantic pace after round 3 and both fighters boxed a pretty entertaining 10 rounds..  There was no disputing the victor..  Scores were 99-91, 99-91, 100-90. Ruiz retained his NABF title and is now in line for a WBO eliminator against Hughie Fury on the October 29 Fury-Klitschko undercard in Manchester, England.

Brave Brook stopped by Golovkin in 5.

WBC/WBA/IBF middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) retained his titles with a fifth round TKO over IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London. Golovkin hurt Brook early in round one forcing Brook to weather a heavy storm, but Brook would come back to rally late in the round. Brook landed some well timed counter punches in the second forcing Golovkin to take a moment on the back foot himself... Round three and four saw both fighters find success, Golovkin stalking and Brook picking counters in flurries..  By the end of the fourth Brook looked to be extending Gennady further than any of his previous challengers, Brook began round five visibly marked up, with a swelling around the right eye that had been worsening since the first round, GGGs natural strength began to tell in this session, Brook desperately trying to hang in there, but now primarily on the back foot..  Midway through Golovkin launched a furious attack, Brook was evading most of the shots but it was now obvious that there was a problem with the Sheffield mans vision, in a moment of compassion Dominick Ingle threw in the towel, to save Brook unnecessary punishment..   It was GGG’s 23rd consecutive knockout. Golovkin’s WBA belt was not on the line.